The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory by the United States.  One of the leading attractions at this fair was the Liberty Bell displayed in the Pennsylvania State Building from June to November.  While the formal request for the Liberty Bell exhibit originated from the Secretary of the Exposition, the most compelling request came from a petition signed by 75,000 St. Louis school children asking to have the bell on exhibit.

The Liberty Bell was removed from Independence Hall on June 3, 1904, and escorted by an impressive military pageant to a special train car designed for the Bell's trip through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri.  This was to be the longest trip that the Liberty Bell had made to date.

The day of the Liberty Bell's arrival in St. Louis, June 8, the St. Louis Mayor officially declared it "Liberty Bell Day" in honor of the Bell's arrival.   The people of St. Louis turned out in hordes for the reception. From the train station, the Liberty Bell was taken to the fair grounds on a float decorated with flags and banners and pulled by 13 gray draft horses symbolizing the 13 original states.   At the head of the team was a large gray horse bearing a large blue ribbon containing the word 'Pennsylvania'. The float was accompanied by a platoon of St. Louis mounted police and carriages carrying fair and civic officials.   Huge crowds gathered to watch the procession - particularly thousands of children enjoying the legal holiday in honor of the Bell.

When the Liberty Bell reached the Pennsylvania State Building "hundreds of willing hands assisted at the ropes which drew the relic up the runway into its resting place in the great rotunda.  Lying without yoke or support or other covering upon an American flag with only another flag as background, it was never more impressive in its simplicity."